Let's Paint Our Future
by KeywielderAnima
Summary: Naminé has an important painting to complete, but has artist's block, so Riku offers to help her, which might have turned out to have a much bigger impact on him than he ever imagined. [RikuNami]


**A/N: I need a break from writing angsty post-KH3 fanfiction, so here's a fluffy RikuNami oneshot from moi!**

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**O~ Let's Paint Our Future ~O**

It wasn't atypical for Riku to spend a majority of his evenings watching his own program while working on whatever assignments his college professors assigned him that week. With him, and Naminé, his girlfriend of five years, being in their fourth and third years respectively at Destiny Islands University, their lives consisted of classes, their server and bartender jobs to pay off their rent and bills at their small two-bedroom apartment, and squeezing whatever free time they had to spend it with each other, or hang out with friends. There were times when it seemed impossible to get through, but thanks to the support Riku and Naminé had for each other, they always managed to make it through another week.

On this particular night, Naminé came home from work and immediately went into the second bedroom that Riku let her use as an office/studio since she had so many supplies and there wasn't enough room in the living room or bedroom. This was pretty normal for them, and luckily, it didn't bother Riku. He was pretty independent and understood how demanding Naminé's Studio Art major was in terms of work done outside of class. He could recall her first year where she would be at the visual arts building until late hours in the night just trying to perfect whatever still life drawing she was supposed to be working on that week. Riku's major was just as demanding too, being a Psychology major, and he would still have to continue his education even after the bachelor's degree, but he never wanted to show it. He always made the promise to himself that he'd be the strong one for Naminé.

It was approaching midnight and Riku decided he was done studying for the night. He hadn't seen Naminé all night except for the few times she went into the kitchen to get a snack or a drink and then hurried back to her studio. _She has to be exhausted, _he thought to himself as he looked at the time. Riku shoved his books to the side and made his way down the hall to the second bedroom. He usually didn't go into the studio when Naminé was working because he was always worried about disturbing her and making her lose her focus. He already did that once and felt really bad about it. This time though, the door was left cracked open, either by accident or on purpose, but it gave Riku enough a reason to go into the studio and check on Naminé.

"Hey, sweetheart." He greeted softly as he slowly opened the door.

Naminé gasped, quickly snapping out of her train of thought. "Hey, sorry. I didn't hear you come in right away."

"It's alright. I was just coming to check on you. It's getting really late. How's the project coming?"

"Well…" She sighed heavily and held her head low.

Riku furrowed his eyebrows before looking at the still blank canvas. "Sweetie, you've been here for three hours and you couldn't come up with anything?" He asked with concern.

"I tried, I tried everything. I tried using some of our belongings for inspiration, I tried rearranging the room, I tried taking a walk, I called Kairi, but she couldn't think of anything."

"What about Sora?"

Naminé rolled her eyes. "I love the guy, but he lost all credibility when he said to just draw puppies and kitties under a rainbow."

"True, the guy barely knows how to use a computer." Riku chuckled with amusement. He ran his hand along her back when she saw her slumping back over hopelessly. "I'm sure you'll think of something. This isn't the first time you've had artist's block. By the way, you never told me what this project was for. I feel like it's a little early in the semester to be stressing about a project this badly."

"Well, every summer, you know how there's that art festival in town?" She asked, him nodding in response. "Well, they always have an auction for works created by University students, but there's an 'audition' process in the sense that I have to create a piece that is personal, has great meaning behind it, and shows my skills to their fullest. If it impresses the heads of the art department enough, it'll be featured in the festival and auctioned off!"

Riku gasped, smiling widely. "Naminé, that's great! This is such a great opportunity for you! When's the deadline to apply?"

"Two weeks, but I have my other classwork, so I want to get this done as soon as possible."

"Hmmm…." He thought for a moment. "Well, you said it had to be personal, have great meaning behind it, and show off your skills." Naminé nodded. She watched as Riku suddenly took off his shirt and tossed it to the side before leaning against the wall with an arm behind his head. "How about this? Draw me like one of your sexy french male models." Riku said in a low sensual tone.

Naminé only laughed and shook her head. "I don't think so."

"What? What can be more personal and have better meaning than a painting of your sexy boyfriend?" He asked while shrugging.

"Because that's _too _personal, and besides, you'll only distract me." She looked away while blushing.

Riku only snickered before bending down and kissing her. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It is! You're too...you're too…"

"Sexy?"

"Yes!" Naminé stood up from her chair and turned him towards the door. "I love you, but I need you and your six pack to go to bed so I can start on this project."

Riku sighed as he stopped himself in the doorway. "Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He turned around and pulled her into a hug, resting his head on top of hers. "I know you're stressing about this." Naminé buried her face into his chest while she tightened her grip around him. He kissed her on the head while rubbing her back. "I think you should come get some sleep, but if you _really_ want to keep working, I'll let you be." He released his grip before grabbing his shirt.

"Actually...if you're not too tired, could you sit here in the studio with me? Maybe talking will help me come up with something." Naminé asked while twiddling her fingers.

"Sure, I'll stay."

Riku put his shirt back on before grabbing a chair from the other side of the room. He scooted it up close so he could sit next to Naminé. As he stared at the canvas, he couldn't help but have the same struggle she felt. With Kairi being a writer and Naminé being an artist, Riku could only question how it was possible for them to keep the creative juices flowing as often as they did. He knew Sora couldn't do it with his attention span being as short as it was and he felt like the most creative he ever was in his life was figuring out how to build a raft that ended up getting destroyed in the end.

"Still a blank canvas…" Naminé sighed.

"Well...this may sound surprising, but I think you should take Sora's advice. Maybe not necessarily with cats and dogs, but maybe you should start off simple. Why don't you just draw yourself?"

"Do I have to? I hate doing self portraits…"

"I know, you were always self conscious about yourself when you had to draw all those self portraits during your second semester. I remember you hating those. How about drawing me instead? And this time, I'll keep my shirt on so I'm not _too _distracting." He laughed.

"Hmmm, I guess that would make it personal." Naminé said with a soft smile. She picked up one of her soft pastels and pressed it against the canvas before stopping.

Riku furrowed his eyebrows, looking at her with concern. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just...had an idea." She picked up another pastel and held it out to Riku. "Here, you can draw me."

"Huh?"

Naminé giggled and nodded. "Yeah. I'll draw you and you'll draw me."

"On the same canvas?" He asked, staring at the pastel. She nodded while her eyes darted between him and the canvas. "Uh...I don't think that's a good idea. I'm not artistically inclined at all, and I'd hate to ruin what is going to become a masterpiece."

"You won't ruin it, really." She assured him. Naminé rested her hand on top of Riku's and brushed it. "This work is supposed to be personal and have great meaning behind it at the end of the day. I want to put a bit of _you_ in it."

"Are...are you sure? You promise I won't ruin it? Sora can draw better than me, and that's saying a lot." Riku asked, as he took the pastel and fiddled with it.

Naminé nodded confidently as she pressed her pastel to the canvas. "I promise. Come on, let's draw each other, together."

Riku sighed and smiled warmly. It seemed no matter what, Naminé was set on this being a project they do together. She had definitely inherited Kairi's stubbornness in his eyes. He rested his trembling hand against the canvas and began sketching, following Naminé's lead. The sketch...wasn't really up to the quality of standards he had hoped for, but Naminé's constant assurring smile was enough to keep him going. The random shapes suddenly began to form into a full body figure that looked quite cartoony, but was an enjoyable contrast to Naminé's more accurate proportions and realistic style.

"It's cute!" Naminé chirped with a laugh.

"No it's not, it's crap." Riku sighed and shook his head.

"No! No! Keep going! Let's keep drawing!" She suddenly began sketching out a motorcycle. "Here, it's your motorcycle!"

"Oh, you mean the one that gave yours and Kairi's dad a heart attack when I showed up on it?" He cracked with Naminé nodding confidently. "I remember the first time I took you on a ride. You were screaming half the time."

"Yeah, but it was fun! I always enjoy it when we ride together!" Her smile faded for a split second as a serious expression grew on her face. "But when we have children, we have to get a car because motorcycles are unsafe for babies."

"B-babies?" He stammered.

Naminé laughed. "Well yeah, you know I'd like to have kids sometime in the future."

"Yeah...I remember Sora and I overheard you and Kairi having talks about this." Riku said with a soft smile. "How many did you say you want again?"

"Hmmm…." She began sketching a figure that resembled a child. "Two, a boy and a girl. Here, I'm sketching a little girl here, you can sketch a little boy if you want."

"O-Okay…"

As the two of them sketched, Riku's eyes darted between the little girl that Naminé was sketching and his little boy. As the sketch formed into a boy that resembled him and Naminéd, Riku's heart began pounding against his chest while his throat grew dry. Sure, the two of them had talked about their future before in casual conversation, but now that they were in their twenties, it seemed that time was suddenly flying by way too quickly. It was almost as if it were a wake up call for Riku. Sora and Kairi were already married, and before either of them knew it, they were going to most likely end up being parents within the next few years. _Are we really at that point already? _Riku asked in his head. _What happened to the last five years? Are we even ready for the next step? Is she waiting for me to take it to the next level?_

"Riku? You okay?" Naminé asked, snapping him out of his train of thought. "You grew quiet all of a sudden."

"Y-yeah...sorry, I was just thinking." His eyes studied on the little girl that Naminé obviously gave his eyes to. "Wow, she looks just like you."

"And you too, they both do."

Riku chuckled as he brushed his hand along the sketches. "Yeah, I guess they do. You gave the girl my stupid snicker."

"And you made the boy really shy like me." She laughed.

"You know that's gonna happen. Our son is gonna be a total mama's boy."

"And you won't make our daughter a daddy's girl?"

"Oh, she'll definitely be one. I know she's not dating until she's forty." Riku said in a serious tone.

"What if Sora and Kairi have a son and she falls in love with him?"

"Then she's definitely not dating him."

Naminé laughed as she nuzzled Riku's face. "You're cute."

"Cute?" Riku asked as he sketched a cat. "Like a cat? I know you've always wanted to get one."

"Yes! Also like...a bird? I'd love to have a little green parrot! They're so cute and pretty!"

"Hmmm, well if we're gonna have all these pets, we're gonna need a big house to hold them in." He mentioned as he began sketching a house on the background.

Naminé gasped as she sketched some ocean at the bottom of the canvas. "A house on the beach? There's one over by the beach that I've had my eyes on since moving out!"

"There's a paopu tree over by one of the houses, maybe if we're lucky, we'll live in one of those someday."

"Perfect... " She sighed as the two of them finished sketching a paopu tree. "I...think it's done. At least the sketch is done."

Riku chuckled and nodded. "Great, I love it. It looks beautiful." He set down the pastel and stretched out his arms. "So, now what?"

"Now, we get to be all messy and start painting this!" Naminé walked over to her paint kit and began pulling out her bottles of acrylics along with her brushes and pastel. "This is the best part! Here! Take a brush!"

"Okay, this part I really think you should do yourself. I really can't paint."

"Sure you can! You've already come this far!" Naminé confidently placed a brush in Riku's hand and placed the pastel between the two. "Come on, it'll be fun! Please!" She eyed him with sparkly blue crystal eyes and fluttered eyelashes. "Let's paint our future together."

Riku tried to look away, but couldn't. He had a way of being weak to her puppy dog eyes. Despite how much he denied he wouldn't be as weak as Sora when it came to their ladies giving them 'the eyes', Riku was soft at heart. He sighed and kissed Naminé's cheek before dipping his paintbrush into the light blue. She watched peacefully as he wiped the brushed along the bottom of the canvas, applying a base coat to the ocean of the beach. It was little things like this that she cherished the most, even more so than the occasions where Riku went big on their date night. It was all she wanted for the two of them, a simple life. Naminé only wanted a life where she and Riku could be together, have a family in a nice house, and she could create beautiful art.

The minutes painting turned into hours of silence, laughing, and getting paint on each other. Before they knew it, the blank canvas was now covered in a kaleidoscope of base colors. Naminé stood up from the chair and backed away, getting a good look at it. While it wasn't close to being finished due to her wanting to add lighting and shading layers once the base dried, she was satisfied with the progress she had made so far. Seeing it set up on the easel, Naminé noticed that it stood out amongst her other paintings. It was unique. It was growing on her and was becoming her favorite painting that she's ever done.

"How do you like it?" Riku asked.

"It's great! It's gonna look even better when…" She let out a large yawn. "When I...apply the other layers."

"Come on, sleepyhead." He laughed as he picked her up bridal style and carried her out of the room. "It's really late and we both need sleep."

Naminé sighed as she rested her head into the crook of his neck. "How late?"

"It's...past 4am…"

"Wow...that time went by quick...but wait, we gotta clean...the paint…" She muttered softly.

Riku shook his head. "Shh...don't worry about it." He whispered as he stepped into the bedroom and closed the door behind them.

"What about...our hands?" Naminé asked as Riku set her on her side of the bed.

"I'll go grab a towel."

With Naminé lying down in bed, Riku retreated into the bathroom and dampened a towel with soap. It had seemed that Naminé was even more exhausted than either of them imagined because as soon as he was back in the bedroom, she was already passed out. He sighed and smiled as he sat on the bed and began to gently scrub her hands clean. Riku knew Naminé preferred to clean herself up after she finished painting and it would've been harder to clean up if the paint dried up anymore than it already was. It didn't take long until Naminé was sparkly clean and Riku quickly scrubbed his own hands clean.

Riku tossed the towel to the side of the room after he was cleaned up before lying down in bed. He normally wouldn't leave clothes on the floor, but at this point, all he wanted was sleep. Riku stretched out in bed and let out a heavy sigh, relieved that the two of them could finally rest after the long day. As his eyes drifted shut, Riku felt the weight of Naminé's head rest on top of his chest and her arm wrapped around his waist. His eyes shot back open as he looked down at the blonde that slept blissfully, gently inhaling and exhaling, and a warm smile formed on his face. He held her close to him and kissed her forehead while nuzzled into her soft hair. He continued to think about the painting they had created earlier that night together. He wasn't one to overthink things in their relationship unless it was a case of his insecurities kicking in, but this time was different.

_A house on the beach? A cat? A bird? Kids? Our...future? _Riku thought to himself. He chuckled as she mumbled in her sleep about nothing in particular, but still found it rather charming. _Yeah...our future._

After giving Naminé one more kiss, Riku reached over for his phone on the bedside table. He pulled up Sora's number and began typing a text message to him.

'**Hey, when you're available. I need yours and Kairi's help. I need help finding a diamond for Naminé.'**

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**A/N: I think I better go to the dentist because I have a cavity from all of this sweetness now ^^**


End file.
